VATICAN CITY (RNS) For Pope Francis, just six months on the job, the Syria question will test his ability to summon the power of his global bully pulpit, and could play a major role in shaping the global image of a man who's been lauded for his down-to-earth pastoral appeal.

Alessandro Speciale

Alessandro Speciale has been covering the Vatican since 2007 and wrote for Religion News Service from 2011-2013. Born in Rome, he studied literature at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, Italy, and journalism at City University, London. He has appeared as an expert on Vatican affairs on CNN, BBC World and Al Jazeera English.

22 Comments

I believe so much in what Pope Francis is calling for on Saturday. My entire family will be fasting and praying , attending mass . Everyone should join in, no matter your religious affiliation. This Peace that we are praying for effects all of us in America, and the world. We are stuck in a culture of death. We need to be constantly praying, as this is what will bring peace. Prayer is very powerful. Please join us.

verus

Dr Rosemary Eileen McHugh

As an American Catholic, I am glad that Pope Francis is speaking out about the situation in Syria. Hopefully, he will unite with other religious leaders to pressure Assad and his wife to cease this terrible destruction of his own people, especially by chemical weapons.

Where is the outrage of the world???

Is President Obama the only world leader who sees the need to make Assad accountable???

Sadly, in my view, the Vatican is already on the global stage due to its cover-up of the worldwide clergy sexual abuse crisis and its lack of accountability for the many suicides around the world of those who gave up hope that their stories of being sexually abused by a priest, religious brother, nun, or bishop, would be believed because of the lies and denial of the truth by the sexual predators and by the hierarchy.

I hope Pope Francis will regret his past protection of at least one sexual predator priest and that he will be willing to speak with the victims of clergy sexual abuse, refer all cases to the police for investigation, and remove the predator priests from the priesthood.

Francisco Vas

Dr, McHugh:
After your first paragraph, the last two are non-sequitur.
As much as the issue of sexual abuse is an abomination, there is a proper place and time to make those concerns known. Otherwise you become a an empty noisemaker adn an irritation.

Mel

Do you really believe that Assad would launch these the day UN inspectors arrived to check on rebel use of chemical weapons? It is obvious the Islamic rebels wanted to draw the US in. Turkey all ready had caught other rebels with 2kgs of sarin gas a few weeks ago, Wise up. Obama is up to no good.

Fran

As Jesus instructed his true followers, we should pray for God’s kingdom (heavenly government with God’s son, Jesus, as King) to come and for God’s will to be done in heaven as it is to be done on earth (Matthew 6:10), or God’s kingdom putting an end to all of man’s governments (Daniel 2:44) and bringing true peace and security to meek mankind on earth (Psalm 37:10,11).

Pedro

Fr Johan Paul Gill

God bless Pope for speaking up against war and violence. Our prayerful support is with him always. As far as the sexual abuses of the clergy is concerned, i am very sure that he will deal with it as effectively as expected but surely it will take time. Lets wait and see. And instead of being negative and critical all the time support him with our prayers. May God bless you all. Amen.

bill bannon

The Pope is nice but non rational on war. He asks when has violence ever brought peace. It stopped Hitler from taking over Europe and stopped Japan from enslaving China in WWII.
It’s like our Popes feel obligated to be the opposite of the Inquisition Popes but that is merel going from one wrong extreme to another one. He’s a nice people person but he is not careful with generalities.

Agnelo

Dr Rosemary. Are you really a doctor. your comments are stupid and evil. The world wants peace and not war. Your Obama is a evil. if he has evidence assad used chemical wepons, why is he hiding the evidence. Anyway Americans have no shame. The Al qieda bombed the twin towers and now America is helping the same people to attack the christians. Shame

Pope’s pulpit is no bully pulpit. It is a very reasonable, persuasive and compassionate call to people with hard hearts and insensitive minds. If they cannot foresee the blood, sweat, tears of thousands of men, women and children who are mostly poor, then they should not be in the positions they are occupying now. Arsenals of arms and armaments manufacturers should be eliminated from the face of the earth, Then the leaders will be forced to use their brains to find ways of negotations that lead to peace among men of goodwill.

Dr. rosmary, are u isane, listen, before Iraq war strated, both Bush and tony bler went to vatican to meet Pope John P II for advice, pope then told them not to use military intervention on Iraq but using diplomatic approach. the both listened but not practiced. what happened was thousands killed and endless civil war now in iraq. you are deserved for Hell Ross. you should have not lived in this world bcoaz you are useless.

Look my beloved friends arround the world, “Power of Evil in Syria is topledown by the power of Prayer by Pope France – Believe or not , the most powerfull weapon to solve problem is A faithfull prayer that is all no other my friends , its proved.

[…] VATICAN CITY (RNS) For Pope Francis, just six months on the job, the Syria question will test his ability to summon the power of his global bully pulpit, and could play a major role in shaping the global image of a man who's been lauded for his… […]

[…] leader, has continued his regular peace appeals to his Twitter followers, and, notably, offered a 5-hour long prayer marathon for peace in Syria on St. Peter’s Square this past Saturday evening, September 7. Some 100,000 […]